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On Feb. 7, presidential candidate Marianne Williamson announced the end of her run for the Democratic nomination. The decision came in the wake of her second place performance at the South Carolina primary, trailing incumbent President Biden’s 96% win by a 94% difference, since she secured 2.1% of all the votes. Williamson only defeated Minnesota representative Dean Phillips, and by less than 1%.
In the last couple of years, the discussion surrounding the use of artificial intelligence in academic settings has been a point of contention. For some students, AI has been a source to generate ideas and act as personal editors, while professors have mixed feelings of its usage. While many have embraced the convenience that AI offers, Peizhao Li Ph.D. ’24 was recently awarded the $55,000 Graduate Research Fellowship Program from the National Institute of Justice for his research to better understand bias in artificial intelligence and machine learning and to better regulate its potential discriminatory impact.
At its Feb. 11 meeting, the Student Union Senate gave probationary status to two new clubs, reviewed an upcoming initiative from the Social Justice Committee and discussed improving the transparency of future Senate meetings.
MEDICAL EMERGENCY
On the night of Feb. 10, the University’s Cambridge/Boston shuttle route was delayed due to a minor accident in Cambridge near the highway. The shuttle collided with a small car while making a wide right turn in a four-way intersection, hitting the car’s left back door with its front right side. The collision left a dent in the car’s backseat door.
According to an article from Gettysburg College, the average person will spend around 90,000 hours of their life working. While this is a depressing statistic for many, Dr. Ed Boyden showed how these hours can be used to put good in the world during a Feb. 8 guest lecture hosted by Brandeis Effective Altruism. According to their website, effective altruism is a “social movement that aims to find the best ways to help others through the use of evidence and careful reasoning.” In the past, Boyden worked on neuroimaging technology and its numerous applications in healthcare. In addition to being a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boyden is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and an investigator at both MIT’s McGovern Institute and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
On Feb. 9, the Brandeis faculty met with a full agenda, including new and previous motions, a presentation and a Q&A session with administration.
On a sunny Friday, Feb. 9, members of the Waltham community, city councilors, gymnasts and movie lovers alike came together to celebrate the newly renovated Embassy Performing Arts Center, located in the Embassy Cinema. Smaranda Maria Albeck, founder of the Boston nonprofit Boston Rhythmic, purchased the Embassy Cinema’s property in March 2023 with plans to expand her school.
At its Feb. 4 meeting, the Student Union Senate met to discuss and vote on an Unpaid Internships Policy Bill. Following a presentation on this policy the week prior, Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Rani Balakrishna ’25 recapped the policy guidelines, acting as a delegate for the Boston Intercollegiate Government.
MEDICAL EMERGENCY
On Jan. 29, nine Massachusetts universities, including Brandeis, co-hosted the first discussion of a newly developed discussion series titled “Dialogue and Action in an Age of Divides.” During the online webinar, panelists weighed in on the increasingly debated discussion of hate and free speech. The program was moderated by Roderick Ireland, professor of criminology and criminal justice at Northeastern University and former chief justice of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court.
On Feb. 1, the Hiatt Career Center hosted a webinar, “Black & Disabled: Creating Equity in Overlooked Spaces,” aimed at exploring how higher education institutions and employers can be more inclusive. HBCU 20x20’s CEO, Nicole Tinson, moderated the panel. Dr. Dennis Johnson, the senior vice president of partnerships for HBCU 20x20, gave a brief introduction. Derrick Cainion and Ambrose Tabb provided American Sign Language translations throughout.
Brandeis Emergency Medical Corps is holding classes that cover cardiopulmonary resuscitation, Stop the Bleed and overdose prevention this spring semester. Participating in one of these multi-hour courses will count for one credit of the Brandeis Health, Wellness and Life Skills core requirement.
This past November, two cases were filed against Germany’s federal government. One, occurring on Nov. 15, 2023, claimed that a leftover €60 billion of COVID-19 relief money had been wrongfully repurposed as climate relief money. On Nov. 30, 2023, a different case claimed that the German government had not met the demands outlined in its Federal Climate Protection Act. Both cases ruled in favor of the group challenging the German government, displaying the complexities involved in Germany’s climate response.
In honor of Black History Month, the University announced a series of events to recognize the contributions of the Black community to the United States. In a Feb. 1 email, Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs Lauren Haynie and Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Lee Bitsóí acknowledged the significance of Black History Month and previewed the various ways in which the University plans to celebrate.
“I am [Brandeis National Committee]’s biggest cheerleader because I am Brandeis’ biggest cheerleader,” Beth Bernstein MA ’90 said in a Feb. 2 interview with The Justice. For the past 33 years, Bernstein has been an central part of the BNC, an organization that has been around as long as the University itself.
On Dec. 7, 2023, a hit-and-run crash took place on Totten Paul Road in Waltham. This accident caused the deaths of National Grid employee Roderick Jackson and Waltham police officer Paul Tracey.
On Feb. 2, sewage water flooded the first floor suites and basement of Ziv 129, damaging both University property and students’ personal property. Affected students were forced to act quickly to try and save personal belongings from the flood.
This Monday, Newton students are back in their classrooms following a 15-day strike and a hard-fought four-year educator contract between the Newton Teachers Association, Newton School Committee and Mayor Ruthanne Fuller. This teachers strike was the sixth of its kind in Massachusetts since 2022 — it is also the largest and longest strike, impacting a total of 12,000 students from 22 Newton schools.